


Change of the Guardians

by ilikepie2000



Series: Unfinished Ideas [1]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Angst, Gen, Good Person Pitch Black (Guardians of Childhood), I Tried, Jack Needs a Hug, OOC warning, So many cliches, The Guardians Find Out They Don't Know As Much As They Think, Worldbuilding, cliches, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-03-05
Packaged: 2019-03-27 12:06:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13880529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilikepie2000/pseuds/ilikepie2000
Summary: I don't even know how to explain this. Okay. So there's a whole bunch of other spirits, and instead of the Nightmare Spirit being Pitch, it's actually some guy named The Nightmare King who goes crazy. The Guardians double as Grand-Poobah's of Spirit-dom, and confront him, they fight, and Pitch (who's just a Night Spirit) ends up sacrificing himself to defeat the The Nightmare King, and ends up resurrecting as the Guardian of Courage. The Guardians spend all their time and energy on teaching him, which means they don't even notice when Jack becomes Jack Frost, which leaves Jack to fend for himself. He ends up getting taken in by the current Winter Spirit - Old Man Winter.500 years pass, and eventually Jack becomes the Winter Spirit, and is doing Winter Spirit-y things when the Guardians finally notice him. They think he's a rogue spirit, or that he killed Old Man Winter (or something. I haven't fleshed it out that far). He ends up getting brought before them, and then plot happens.So yeah. That's basically it.





	1. How It All Started...

**Author's Note:**

> As with everything, beware the OOC-ness of things. Everything. But it's AU, so they can be. They definitely are. And I can't write accents. Except maybe southern. But. yeah.

“It had been a while since the last madman. Or mad-spirit, as it were. As had been the case since anyone could remember, it had been a nightmare spirit. _Which one_ they couldn’t quite remember, for there had been far too many to count.

Well, whoever it had been, the current lunatic was a spirit by the name of The Nightmare King. He ruled the shadows, the night, and the things that go “bump” in them. He led the creatures that gloried in darkness and fear, for that was his domain. His power came from children’s nightmares, harnessing their fear, and using all their darkness, negative emotions and apprehensions to assist his plot for world domination. He wanted the whole world to be dark, gloomy, and full of terror.  And he almost succeeded.

But he miscalculated. He disregarded the Guardians of Light and all they stood for, and that was his fatal error. The Guardians, for so they are called, are special spirits, wise and good, who guard the important traits that are most prevalent in children. They are also called the Guardians of Childhood. They battle evil in many forms, both physical and mental, with the help of their “center”. Their “center” is the trait that they personally protect. Hope, Dreams, Wonder, etc.

The man that is their leader, in a sense, is the man humans call ‘Santa Claus’. But Nicholas St North is not the jolly, fat man they put on Christmas Cards. He is a big man, and a strong warrior. His weapons of choice are twin swords from his Bandit King days. His workshop is situated at the North Pole, and this is where he makes toys for the children. His ‘center’, is Wonder.

His closest friend and confidante is E Aster Bunnymund. The humans call him the Easter Bunny. But he is no cowering cottontail; he’s 6’1, with nerves of steel, master of Ti-Chi, and many other ancient arts, forgotten by man and spirit alike. His favorite weapons are his boomerangs. Those, his tribal tattoos, and significant accent reveal his aboriginal heritage. His ‘center’ is Hope.

The mother of the group is obvious; Toothiana, or the Tooth Fairy. She resides in her Tooth Palace, directing the mini-fairies that gather the children‘s teeth.  She is always working, and is sweet and kind. But when someone threatens something or someone she loves, she becomes one of the fiercest warriors. Her wings can be razor sharp, and her speed along with them can be lethal. The children’s memories are stored in the teeth she collects, giving her the ‘center’ of Memories.

The last member of the group is the Sandman. A short, silent man who brings the children good dreams. He uses a special substance called ‘dreamsand’. He uses it as a weapon, as a tool, and as a method to communicate. He can tell what is someone’s fondest dream, and he makes an effort to give them a wonderful dream of that.

Together, there isn’t much they can not do. Originally, they had been recruited by the Man in the Moon to protect the children of the world. Later, seeing how wise and just they were, Man in the Moon also gave them the title Enforcers of Spirit Law, and the responsibilities that went along with it.

The current situation was one of the few that combined their two titles. If the Nightmare King continued his rampage, he would hurt children and spirits alike. Their role as Guardians was to protect the children. Their role as Enforcers was to bring the rogue spirit to justice.

As the battle raged, they couldn’t seem to weaken him. For he didn’t engage them himself but sent his shadow minions instead. The fight went on for hours. The odds seemed stacked against them, and they were slowly being overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Just as all hope seemed lost, there was a bright flash of light, illuminating the forest in which they fought.

And then all was silent. The Guardians looked around in surprise, for all the shadows were gone and the Nightmare King lay still on one side of the clearing. A gasping breath caught their attention. Beside the motionless spirit, sat a night spirit, one who spread darkness, so the sun could rise the next morning. As a creature for dark, light was deadly to him. He’d known that, but he’d decided that he couldn’t abandon the Guardians. So, he’d used a special magic to channel the light of the moon through him, and had directed it at the Nightmare King, destroying himself in the process. He’d faced down his fear of pain, war, and death, and had saved the Guardians, and, the whole world.  But, he had depleted most of his life power, and he was weak.

Then, all attention was on the Nightmare King, who rose steadily through the air, his head lolling to the side - limp and lifeless. The moon stood high overhead, and a beam of moonlight shone on the spirit. He faded away, leaving a bright ball of light in his wake.

The light lowered, and then came to rest on the body of the night spirit. As it entered him, his eyes, which had closed, snapped open, and he began glowing. His eyes became golden. He became taller, and his robe changed. The powers of the fear-bringing Nightmare King, were now the power of the night spirit. And that was the beginning of Pitch Black, future Guardian of Courage.”

The book slammed shut. “And that is the end of that. Thank goodness.”

Jack Frost, Apprentice of Winter, and prankster at large, got up and stretched, glad that his daily history lesson was over. He didn’t even flinch at the thud of the book hitting the floor as he walked away, whistling. He twirled his staff as he started out of the library but stopped when he caught sight of the spirit in the doorway. He wilted as Old Man Winter, the current personification of Winter, gave him a pointed glare from where he watched. Jack quailed, and put the book back on the shelf where it belonged. He glanced over at the Old Man and brightened at his nod of approval.

Then, recovering his nonchalance, he resumed his twirling and whistling while he meandered toward the door, grinning cheekily at his mentor, and missing the affectionate glance returned as he made his way to the hall.


	2. Where Is Winter?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians learn that Jack knows Old Man Winter, and are suspicious. They question Jack as to his whereabouts. Jack in turn questions their loyalty to the Old Man, and neatly sidesteps the question. The Guardians suffer from a bout of "foot-in-the-mouth" and discover that they don't know nearly as much as they thought. About many things.

The Guardians pondered the new information until one of his comments again caught their attention. “Oh man! I wish Old Man Winter was here to see this!”  Jack was lost in his thoughts until North said excitedly, “Old Man Winter? Where is Old Man Winter? We look but we can’t find him.” Bunny’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Jack. “If you’ve done anything to him…” He trailed off threateningly. “Where is he?”

Jack snorted in derision at the display of anger and dismay on most of the Guardians faces, his earlier humor forgotten. “You really care about Old Man Winter?” He asked mockingly. “Right. I don’t think so. In fact, I KNOW you don’t care. And why would you? Obviously he was not important enough for you to care about him. He wasn’t then and he isn’t now.”  He continued provoking them for a few minutes, waiting for a reaction.

 He could see Tooth starting to get aggravated, and he could tell she would snap first. He internally smirked. Served her right.  Tooth scowled. “Of course we care about our friend! Where is he?” She demanded, causing the other Guardians to glance over in surprise. Then, they registered what she said and started imagining all the horrible things that could have happened to Old Man Winter. Pitch felt the apprehension rolling off his fellow Guardians as they contemplated what misfortune could have befallen the personification of winter at the hands of Jack Frost. Even Sandy pounded one fist into the open palm of his hand as a threat to the young Winter Spirit.

The Guardian of Courage didn’t particularly care either way. He hadn’t as of yet met Old Man Winter, and, as he thought about it, he hadn’t met any other winter spirits beside the eternal youth in front of them. He frowned. Where were the other winter spirits? If one was such a good friend as it seemed he should have at least met him once. At _least_ once. He shrugged and filed the thought away to think on later.

Jack rolled his eyes, his expression a belittling smirk that masked the anger simmering below the surface. “Why should I tell you? You haven’t seen him in, oh, about 250 years isn’t it?” He countered. “You must have been so busy with the _wonder_ of Christmas, the _hope_ of Easter, the _memories_ you guard, and the _dreams_ of the children, that you forgot all about your so called _friend_.” He said as he addressed each Guardian individually. “If he really was your friend, you should have visited in the, oh what was it? 45 years I was there with him?” He pondered for a second but quickly became angry again. “But NO! No letters, no visits, no ‘hey how are you’ NOTHING! He was left all alone in his winter palace, no other Spirits to help him, and now, 250 years later, you have the audacity to claim to be his friends!”  He shot up, a chilling rage taking over his features. North waved a hand dismissively. “Wasn’t that long. Besides, children are more important. Christmas is more important than visits to ice palace.” He finished, his tone saying that it was obvious.

Pitch internally winced, thinking that that was one of the worst things they could say, and then cringed even more when the other guardians but Sandy nodded and added their two cents. He watched as Jack became so furious, he started to quiver with suppressed rage at each comment. Though they didn’t seem to notice, as their excuses kept coming.

The temperature dropped and dropped as Jack got angrier and angrier. Finally, he’d had enough. Everyone shivered as a sudden chill struck them. He silently shook as he struggled to keep his powers under control. You see, Jack had developed a unique talent, the ability to become ice at will. Well, mostly at will. When he was really angry, (like now,) or in a fight or flight situation, he lost control. He literally became an ice statue.

 The Guardians slowly trailed off as they realized they had crossed a line. They soon watched in fascinated horror as he froze from the inside out. They watched as his fingers clenched and unclenched, turning into the pale blue that signified pure ice. It soon spread up his arms and up his legs, and before you could say ‘Jack Frost’, they were looking wide eyed at a Jack ICE. Living, moving, rock solid ice.

North softly exclaimed in Russian, the sight unlike anything he’d seen before. Bunny gripped his boomerangs, and Tooth gasped. Pitch spoke up, knowing from the waves of fear that no-one else would be able to anytime soon.

“So what happened to Old Man Winter?” He asked. He hurriedly continued as a response to the eerie glare he was receiving from the Ice Jack.  “It’s an honest question. I’ve never met him.” He paused, and then continued thoughtfully, “But, I should have. I’ve been a Guardian for about that long. Give or take.”

Ice Jack looked at him just as thoughtfully. “I’ll tell you. Thank you for asking NICELY.” He said with a pointed look at the other Guardians. “I really appreciate that. Elemental spirits all run the risk that he did. And obviously they,” a vicious nod directed at the Guardians, “are too ignorant to know what happened. Let me ask you a question.”  He said, turning to face them. “Who was the Winter Spirit before Old Man Winter? Just want to see if you know your history.”

There was a long pause as they tried to recall. Jack rolled his eyes after a few more moments, and supplied the answer. “It was the White Witch. And who was the Nightmare Spirit before Pitch?” He didn’t wait for them to answer before saying, “The Nightmare King. You know that. But who was there before? What was his name?” He looked at Pitch and asked, “Did they tell you about your predecessors? What made them snap? Because if they didn’t I can. The Winter Spirit has always been the historian of the Spirit World.”

He made a face. “The Old Man _loved_ getting to pass that on to me. It’s my least favorite part of being the job. Maybe if there were more than one of us at a time,” He said sending a pointed, vicious look at the moon. “My job wouldn’t be so bad. But,” He glanced at the Guardians, “that is neither here nor there. Where was I? Ah, yes. So what happened to them? Where did they go? How did they disappear? Do any of you know?”

The Guardians bristled at his implications. “And you know all this?”

 The mocking question made Jack laugh. “Yes actually, I do.” He responded calmly. “Just like the Old Man did. And just like the next winter spirit after me will.”


	3. The Circle of Nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack learns the Guardians a thing, and gets put into a cell while they discuss it.

“Answer the question Frost!” Bunny demanded. To which Jack rolled his eyes and said, “You don’t scare me Kangaroo. None of you do.” He looked at all the guardians but paused at Pitch. “Well,” He amended as he examined the Guardian of Courage, “you kinda creep me out. No offense.”

“None taken.” Pitch returned.

Tooth cocked her head, curiously. “What are you scared of?” She asked.

Jack smirked smugly, and said in a condescending voice, “I don’t do fear. I’m not scared of much.” Everyone looked at Pitch to verify what Jack said. He stared at Jack for a minute before saying, “I don’t sense anything big or noticeable. It would take some time for me to find anything.”

North glanced at Jack in confusion. “Why you not have fear?” he asked.

Jack leaned back in his chair, and made himself comfortable before saying, “You see, I have nothing to fear.” Bunny scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah right.”  He muttered. Jack narrowed his eyes, and stared him right in the eyes as he challenged, “Nothing you could name would be anything to me.”

“Not being believed in. No, no, NEVER being believed in.” Bunny said, gladly accepting the challenge.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Of course you would pick the obvious one. No, I came to terms with not having believers a _long_ time ago. After all, being on your own eventually teaches you that focusing on your loneliness does no good.”His expression darkened as he continued. “Especially when it interferes with another season.” He frowned as he got side tracked by a memory. “But it’s not like I could do anything anyway!” He muttered to himself. “There were four of them, and they were Spring Spirits! I’m the Winter Spirit! I couldn’t defeat them even if I tried! That’s not the way it works!”

 The Guardians watched surprised for a few minutes as he stood and began pacing, forgetting about his audience. They listened and kept quiet as he ranted and raved, until an offhand comment caught them off guard.

“Wait,” Pitch interrupted. “What do you mean, exactly, when you say that they didn’t know about the ‘power cycle’? What power cycle?” He asked confused. North nodded in agreement. “What you mean?” He echoed. “What power cycle?”

Jacks jaw dropped when he heard the questions they asked. He stood there for a few seconds just staring, wide eyed. He started chuckling, and soon it had escalated and he was collapsed on the floor laughing.

“Oy, what’s so funny?” Bunny called out.

Jack sat up from where he had been sprawled on the floor, and snickered as he answered. “What’s funny is the fact that the Guardians of Childhood and the Enforcers of Spirit Law don’t know about something so simple! I’m the only one that knows! Oh this is good!” He was suddenly serious, as he told them, “The cycle is nature. It starts with winter. Then spring is stronger and will always be stronger. Then summer will always be stronger than spring. Autumn will always be stronger than summer but winter will be stronger than that, until spring. And so on.” He paused for a breath then continued.  “The same theory applies to the spirits too. If Spring and I got in a fight, I couldn’t win. But if Fall challenged me, I could beat him. Summer and I would be pretty evenly matched. Of course, experience and stuff play a part too.”

His serious expression was lost as he saw the look of amazement in the faces of the Guardians. It was too much for the young Spirit and he started laughing again.

“Why didn’t we notice this before?” Bunny asked incredulously. He waved over some of his Spring Spirit lackeys.

Jack rolled his eyes as they saluted and stood at attention.

“Take him to a cell in the east wing!” He ordered, and waved them away as he turned and the Guardians began discussing the unexpected information they had received from the winter spirit.

Jack rolled his eyes but didn’t put up much resistance as they escorted him down the hallway, choosing instead to focus his energy on thinking up a plan to get his staff back.


	4. Melting Mayhem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack plays a prank on the Guardians and escapes his cell

North stared after the retreating form of the young troublemaker, and said, “So old friends, what we do with information?”

“Well,” Tooth said, “We need to make sure this knowledge gets out to the other nature spirits. Or, rather, all the spirit that are affected by the seasons.” She looked at Bunny and asked, “Do you Spring Spirits hate the Summer Spirits like Winter is hated?”

Bunny pondered her question. “No,” He answered, “But summer doesn’t kill all life like winter does.” He seemed lost in thought for a few moments. Then he shook his head slightly before continuing. “But what I want to know, is how did we not realize this sooner? Why did we need a prankster like Frost to tell us something that was in front of our faces the whole time?” He groaned. “We should know that already.”

Sandy watched as the Guardians associated with a specific season discussed how to spread word. He caught Pitch’s eye and shrugged. They were associated with night. Not seasons. North didn’t participate as much as the other two. Sandy shrugged and pondered what Jack had said. His eyes widened as he remembered something they had look over in light of the info being discussed. He turned and tried to get the other guardians attention. Pitch cut into the discussion and brought attention to Sandy. Symbols came and went and as they realized what he was asking they too were shocked.

Pitch said aloud what they were now all thinking. “What did he mean that he’s the only Winter Spirit?”

~~~~~~~

Jack examined the cell he’d been put in. It was more of a room than a cell though. Mind you, it had at least three locks on the window, locking it from the outside, it had a solid door, and he’d counted at least six guards. And, of course, it was a spring room. The window even looked out over a flower garden. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he looked at it. It was **_way_** too flowery for his taste. He sighed as he conceded that the room wasn’t much better. It was, as spring rooms tended to be, green, very pink, and **very** flowery. He shivered in disgust. Why would you paint a room pink? It looked like Valentine puked all over it. He laughed as he imagined what his friend would think of that comparison.

The only part of the decorations that wasn’t, pink, flowery, or a combination of the two, was the carpet. It looked like grass. It even felt like grass. Heck, he wouldn’t be surprised if it _was_ grass. You never know with spring spirits. There was a bed on the opposite side of the room from the door, and he sat on it. He bounced for a second, determined it comfortable, and lay down, staring at the ceiling.

A few minutes later, he shifted uncomfortably at the high temperature, and muttered to himself, “If they keep turning up the heat I’m gonna-” He shot up as an idea popped into his head. He waited to feel another increase in temperature. Once he felt it he turned and called through the door, “Can you turn the heat down? I’m going to melt!” An evil grin stole across his features. If he knew spring spirits, and he did, they would increase it out of spite.

He pulled off his hoodie and froze it. He laid it on the bed and hid behind the door.

 The heat increased.

He smirked.

Game on.

~~~~~~~

The Guardians strode down the hall toward the room that held Jack Frost. They stood outside the door for a moment and listened. A faint plea could be heard. “Can you turn the heat down? I’m going to melt!”

Bunny scoffed. “Spirits can’t melt.” The guards nodded and increased the temperature. The five friends discussed their best plan of attack. Who would ask the questions etc. As soon as they were ready, they opened the door. 

Tooth gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as they took in the sight before them. All that was left in the room was a waterlogged hoodie, lying on the bed that was freezing cold, and soaking wet.

Pitch just stood there, staring.

North rubbed his eyes as if to make certain he was seeing correctly. “Do you see what I see?”

Sandy was the only one who noticed Jack Frost hiding behind the door. He tried to get anyone’s attention but they were too shocked.

Bunny stared horrified at the scene in front of him. “I guess spirits CAN melt.” He whispered quietly. The spirits who had been guarding the door quickly and quietly left, so as to not be blamed for the lack of winter spirit in the room.

Jack looked around the edge of the door. They’d all fallen for it! Of course they did, he was the **master** prankster if he did say so himself. Now, off to find his staff.

Sandy gave up. They weren’t paying any attention, and Jack was leaving. He turned around, throwing his hands up in exasperation. Then he walked out the door, and followed Jack down the hallway.


	5. Staffs and Snowstorms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack conjures a storm without his staff and uses said snowstorm to recover that staff.

Jack quickly wandered through hallways and down corridors, the wind guiding him to his staff. He reflected on his trick, and scoffed. “They fell for that one way too easily. They should have been smarter than that.” He grinned. “I guess not many people prank them though. I might be the first.” He sniggered as he imagined their expressions. Unfortunately he didn’t see their faces himself because he was behind the door. He shrugged. He peeked around a corner and muttered a curse under his breath. There were five summer spirits guarding the door that held his staff. He came up with a spur of the moment idea, but decided to listen to their conversation before acting. He listened closely.

“Have you heard the rumors about Jack Frost?” One asked the other four. She glanced about nervously. One of the others rolled his eyes.

“Oh, come on! You don’t really believe all that nonsense do you?”

Jack listened in angry disbelief as the summer spirit expressed his disinterest and stressed that he ‘couldn’t see what the big deal was with this Frost guy anyway.’ Suddenly Jack had an idea. A wonderfully awful Frostly idea!

~~~~~~~

The five summer spirits sat, oblivious to their fate, guarding the door as one of their comrades poked fun at Jack Frost. A couple shifted uncomfortably, unsure what to think. Suddenly, a bitter cold wind blew, freezing their noses, making them all look around in terror as a gravelly voice boomed, “WHO DARES DOUBT THE POWERS OF JACK FROST?!” A light snowfall started, and soon it began to fall faster and faster, thicker and thicker, until it blocked their vision and numbed their fingers and noses.

 A couple sneezed, not used to the freeze of winter. All at once they heard the sounds of footsteps. And they sounded **big**. One of the spirits took off, running as fast as possible to escape the big, bulky shape that had just appeared out of the snow. The other spirits looked at each other and then at the snow monster coming towards them. “Time to go!” one said and they all leaped up and sprinted away.

~~~~~~~

Sandy watched in reluctant admiration as Jack conjured a storm in the hallway, **without his staff.** Jack gave a childish giggle as the other spirits fled. Then, as soon as he was there, he gone. Sandy quickly went around the corner and came face to face with a returning Jack, staff in hand. Sandy, reacting quickly, lobbed a ball of dream sand at him. Jack slumped to the floor and golden dolphins danced around his head. Sandy shook his head and grabbed the end of the staff to return it to the room, but was surprised by the death grip Jack had on it. He shrugged. He started down the hallway, back to the Guardians, pulling Jack by his staff.

~~~~~~~~

Jack gradually returned to awareness, but caution from years of experience kept his eyes closed. He lay still for a minute calculating. He had his staff in his hands, he knew that. The wind whispered her happiness that he could understand her once more, and a breeze ruffled his hair. She told him that the Guardians weren’t in the room and that he could open his eyes. He quickly did so, sitting up, and thanking the wind. He was relieved to find that he was in the same room as before, and his hoodie lay beside him, still soaking wet from his ‘melting’ prank. He quickly stood, slipping on his hoodie which immediately refroze. He inspected his room, and was disappointed to find that nothing had changed.

It was still warm, disgustingly pink, and nothing was new. He sighed. He looked down at his staff, knowing they’d try to take it again. He thought for a moment and came up with an idea. He created a glove of ice, except it went around is hand and the staff. He reinforced it, effectively freezing his hand to his staff. He poured enough power into it that would last over three hours. Then he waited for the anger of the Guardians. He smirked. He still couldn’t believe they’d fallen for that. He sat, designing snowflakes until the wind blew the sound of the Guardians footsteps to him. He looked up, fixing a smug smirk onto his face, even as he subconsciously reinforced the ice around his hand. He took a fortifying breath, prepared for anything. The doorknob turned, and the door opened...


	6. Hopeless Hoaxer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians learn YET ANOTHER THING, but this thing changes how they see everything for the rest of the fic. Jack also escapes.

Bunny stomped into the room, **fuming.** That boy had such nerve! Not only did had he no respect for the Guardians, or their work, but he had made a fool out of them! How dare he! Bunny quivered with rage. He opened his mouth to tell Jack exactly what he thought of him, but Tooth beat him to it.

“How could you do that?” she asked, enraged. Everyone looked at her in surprise. “What?” she asked, “That was not funny! I thought he died!”

Jack chuckled under his breath. Then he gave them a cocky smirk. “That was the point.” He told them. “And the real thing’s going to happen sooner or later. Hopefully it’s sooner, rather than later.” The last part he whispered to the wind.

 Bunny’s ears twitched as he heard the whispered words, and his anger faltered. He looked Jack straight in the eye and asked, “What do you mean by that?”

~~

Jack’s eyes widened and he mentally kicked himself for forgetting the unnatural hearing ability of the Pooka. “Uh, I-I meant that I hope this is over sooner rather than later.” He recovered quickly, but not quickly enough, and he mentally cringed at his stuttering. He knew it was bad when Sandy shook his head.

Pitch sent him a look. “What do you mean?” he asked. “How would ‘the real thing happen’? Spirits can’t die.”  He stated surely. The other Guardians nodded in agreement.

Jack laughed bitterly. “You have a lot to learn.” He told them.

~~

Bunny was functioning on autopilot as he contemplated what Jack said. He knew what the others didn’t, how much hope was behind the statement. He searched for the hope in Jack Frost, and almost fell over as he found what hope Jack had. Or, rather, the hope he didn’t have. There was no hope of life from Jack Frost. No hope for…anything.  As the avatar of Life and Hope, Bunny’s ears went back and he stumbled as the reality of the situation hit him square in the face. Jack Frost had no hope.

“Kangaroo?” a concerned voice brought him back to the present. “Are you okay?” Bunny looked up to see a concerned Jack Frost. He held up a finger, asking for a moment. He went out of the room and took a few deep breaths. He leaned against the wall, unable to believe what his brain was telling him. No hope? How could anyone be hopeless?

North followed his friend out, thought Bunny didn’t seem to notice him. “What is wrong old friend?” he asked. Bunny looked at him and the Guardian of wonder was shocked at the look of despair in his eyes.

“Everyone has to hope, right?”

The question was asked eagerly, almost desperately, and North nodded cautiously. “That is why it needs Guardian!” North boomed, hoping it would reassure the Pooka.

 His eyes widened as Bunny looked him in the eyes and said helplessly, “Then why doesn’t he have any? Why...how can he be hopeless? There has to be…Something, anything….”he trailed off, looking away.

“Who has no hope?” North asked, his eyes narrowed, ready to give whoever hurt his friend a piece of his mind. Once told, he told Bunny to wait there and stormed back into the room to gather his reinforcements. With a few words, he pulled the other Guardians into the hallway. “We have problem.” North told them seriously. “Jack Frost has no hope.”

~~~~~~~

Jack was confused. It had been almost an hour after the ‘hopefully sooner than later’ incident. Bunny had practically run out of the room, North following, and a few moments later, the other Guardians had also made a brisk exit. He lay on the bed, bored. ‘What were they talking about?’ he wondered. They’d moved far enough away the wind couldn’t blow their conversation his way. He huffed. He couldn’t hear anything. Well, he was _really_ bored now. Time to go home! He got up and walked to the window. He tried to open it. “Antifreeze.” He muttered. “Locked.” He lifted his other hand to try it two handed, but was blocked by the ice shield he’d created over it. He wrinkled his nose, held his hand far away from him, focused, and soon the ice shattered.

He flexed his now ice free hand and gripped his staff firmly. He hit the end of it onto the window until it shattered the glass. He glanced around one last time, then flew up and out the window, flying far away from the building, the Guardians, and everything associated with them.


	7. Confounding Conclusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The repercussions of the revelation of the last chapter, and the Guardians resolve to do something about this.
> 
> (It's super short. Like. REALLY. SHORT.)

The Guardians didn’t realize their captive was gone until it was too late. And, they didn’t exactly care until much later than that. They were in too much shock to care about much of anything. It had started with Bunny informing them about the literal hopelessness of the spirit. Then, they had each searched for any of their ‘center’ in the boy. Then, one by one, they had each gone into a similar state of shock. Tooth had nearly fainted. The fact he had no memories hit her hard, but not as hard as Bunny.

North had clutched his chest and gasped, there was no wonder of what the future might hold. No thought of what there _could_ be. The only one who got off lightly was Pitch. He gave the others a sad look, and said gently, “Would you like to know his biggest fear?” They exchanged glances, and then nodded. He gave them another sad look. “Having hopes, and dreams, and wonder, and” he paused, making sure of the fear before he spoke again. “never remembering. He doesn’t know Tooth. And he’s afraid he never will. But what’s worse,” He said, looking at Bunny, ‘is that he’s afraid to _hope_ for remembering. He’s scared of hoping for anything. Because that’s what’s let him down so much in the past.”

The Guardians all sat down hard. “What did we do wrong? Why is he like this?” Tooth wondered. “How did we not realize this would happen?”

Pitch looked down at the ground. “Well,” he said carefully. “I did take all your time. You had to help me so much that you didn’t have time for other things.”

They nodded but Bunny looked up. “You can’t blame yourself, mate.” He said softly. “it was our choice to help you. And,” he continued, his expression hardening. “It was our choice to ignore the Old Man. We chose to focus on what was immediately around us instead of what might be out of our comfort zone. It was our choice, and so,” He stood, looking each of them in the eye. “ _We_ have to fix it.”


End file.
